Tragedy strikes the sets of Rishab Shetty’s Kantara: Chapter 1, as a junior artist dies by drowning. The production of Kantara: Chapter 1 came to an abrupt halt after the tragic death occurred on May 6, 2025. According to the India Today reports, the incident took place when the junior artist went swimming in the Kollar Souparnika River, Karnataka. A case has been registered at the Kollur police station, and the investigation is underway.
Junior artist of Kantara: Chapter 1 dies
As per multiple reports, the junior artist of Kantara: Chapter 1, MF Kapil, a Kerala-based actor, went to the Souparnika River in Kollur, Karnataka, to take a dip after lunch. However, the strong currents swept him away. Following the incident, when the local authorities and forest department were informed, they launched a search and rescue operation. The deceased body was rescued from the river on the evening of May 6, 2025.
Kantara: Chapter 1 team has earlier faced multiple challenges
In November 2024, a bus carrying 20 junior artists reportedly overturned in Kollur, Karnataka, severely injuring six of them. However, a source close to the film’s production spoke to Filmfare and denied the charges of injuries and labelled it as a ‘minor accident’.
The crew of Kantara: Chapter 1 faced scrutiny in January 2025, from the forest department for allegedly disturbing the natural habitat of the Sakleshpur forest, Karnataka, during the film’s shooting. The production team was accused of blasting and cutting down trees. Following the charges, the film’s producers, Hombale Films, had to pay a fine of Rs. 50,000 for dumping film set items into the Karnataka forest.
About Kantara: Chapter 1
After the grand success of the 2022 film, Kantara, a prequel was announced by the makers. Kantara: Chapter 1 is hitting the theatres reportedly on October 2, 2025. There are rumours coming up that the film’s release might be delayed. However, the makers officially confirmed that the release date remains unchanged. The upcoming Kannada film will feature Rishab Shetty, Jayaram, Kishore, and Jayasurya. The film also stars, Bengali actor, Jisshu Sengupta.
More about Jisshu Sengupta
Jisshu Sengupta was born as Biswaroop Sengupta on March 15, 1977, in Kolkata. The actor studied at the Julian day school. He graduated with a degree in Economics from Heramba Chandra College. After completing graduation, Jisshu pursued a career in advertising. Before starting his career as an actor, Jisshu Sengupta was a talented cricketer. He even represented Bengal in some state-level sub-junior league matches.
Jisshu made his acting debut with the popular Bengali soap opera, Mahaprabhu, where he played the lead role of ‘Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’. This role made Jisshu a household name. After working in the Bengali movie industry, Jishhu made his Bollywood debut with the film, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero. The actor has had many hits in Bollywood, including Barfi, Mardaani, and Piku. Jisshu is currently working with Mahesh Bhatt with Bengali actor, Saurav Das.
A heartfelt condolences to MF Kapil’s family.
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